Gente: Volume 3

by Natsume Ono, 166 pages

Loss--be it of a loved one or love, itself--finds comfort in this final collection of vignettes about the staff and customers of the Casetta dell'Orso.

One of the things I like about Ono is that she acknowledges that relationships are complicated, that we all grow older and change and lose and gain things and people along the way.  She doesn't neatly push people together or cruelly tear them apart here; rather, she lets them be and, eventually, accept themselves and adapt and find comfort, each in his or her  own way, with the ristorante providing them a second home and an extended family.

Gente: Volume 2

by Natsume Ono, 170 pages

This time the reader sees more evidence of how the ristorante has long been a homing beacon for those who need it, both staff and customers.  A broken-hearted young American, a bitter young chef, an insecure cameriere, and others find their confidence, their footing, and their place of belonging within its walls and in the relationships they forge there.

I love Ono!

La Quinta Camera - The Fifth Room

by Natsume Ono, 188 pages

The title of this collection of vignettes refers to the succession of tenants in the fifth room of an apartment otherwise shared by four colorful, unmarried guys from different walks of life (the mature apartment owner, who runs the coffee bar downstairs; the gaudily-dressed comics artist; the ragamuffin busker; and the rarely-awake truck driver).  Mostly international students learning Italian at the local language school, each new tenant of the extra room shares his or her culture and creativity with the fellas, who in turn help him or her to feel at home and adjust to life in a new country.  Everybody learns to be flexible as they experience the many changes life throws at them.  And though the apartment's occupants may only be passing through, some for longer than others, the connections they build and the bonds they form in their time together will stay with them always.

There's almost a touch of magical realism to this quiet, amusing, slice-of-life story, as Ono seems to have a thing for (mostly) happy coincidence.  For instance, the first story's new resident manages to bump into all four of her new roommates before she even knocks on the apartment door.  But in this quirky, sentimental vision of Bohemian Rome, that works just fine.  :)

This collection marks the author's professional debut, so it's interesting to see how her style and writing have changed over the years.

Gente: The People of Ristorante Paradiso: Volume 1

by Natsume Ono, 172 pages

This handful of Ristorante Paradiso backstories covers the Casetta dell'Orso's opening and first year anniversary, with glimpses in between of surly widower Luciano's grandfatherhood and lady-loving Vito's retirement from the player's field as he sets his sights on "the one."

I love Ono.  Whether they're "distinguished gentleman," middle-aged ladies, or tiny tots, her characters show a mix of strength and vulnerability and are endearing individuals capable of saying volumes without uttering a word.  She makes you want to laugh with, protect, and hug everybody as the restaurant's little family changes and grows over time.

Ristorante Paradiso

by Natsume Ono, 172 pages

Young Nicoletta flies off to Rome to make something of herself and to track down and confront her mother, who left her with her grandparents years ago in order to marry a man who doesn't know Nicoletta exists.  But when she shows up at her mother and step-father's out-of-the-way restaurant, her mother begs her to keep the secret till she's ready to reveal it herself.  Nicoletta struggles to balance her urge for justice with her longing to finally have her mother in her life, and as she gets to know the colorful, friendly staff (consisting, per her mother's fetishist request, of mostly older gentlemen in glasses), her indulgent step-father, and her now older and (somewhat) wiser mother, she finds her desire to shake things up waning.

A nice slice-of-life tale, this, as Nicoletta grows a little, forgives her mother, and starts to fall for one of the staff.  We get a few little glimpses into some of the restaurant employees' home lives and histories, too, and the result is gentle, touching, and fun.  Ono has a unique, distinctive style that I fell in love with a few pages into the first book of hers I read.  I'm always up for more of her, so I look forward to starting Gente, the sequel series to this one-shot, as it delves more into the personal lives of the Casetta dell'Orso's staff.

(BTW, the anime adaptation is nice, too.)

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

 262 pgs/2012

When her sister dies, 16-year-old Laura's father sends for her from the convent she has been tucked away in so that she can take her sister's place. She is to marry Vincezo and help her father with political gain. Laura is horrified at her father's plans and discovers a secret society that may be willing to help her-for a price. Turns out everyone in Venice has a secret and Laura is caught in the middle of many secrets and scandals.

Lady Julia Grey mystery series

by Deanna Raybourn, 1,762 for these 4 titles

I previously reviewed Silent in the Grave, the first novel in this Victorian mystery series. Since then I have read the next four in the series. The Lady Julia Grey novels have a strong first person narration, which means all of the action is seen through the main character's eyes. Since Julia herself is forthright and adventurous this works well most of the time. She teams up with Nicholas Brisbane, a private investigator, when her first husband, Lord Edward Grey, is murdered. While on the surface these have a lighter tone, Lady Julia and Brisbane find themselves delving into the darker side of Victorian society, so it's not all tea and roses. The characters travel from London to the Middle East and from there to Darjeeling, a British outpost on the Indian border with Sikkim. These travels give an exotic flavor to the stories, which adds interest to series. Lady Julia comes from a long line of aristocratic eccentrics, so her family is full of characters who liven up the stories with their antics. This series reminds me quite a bit of Elizabeth Peters' Amelia Peabody series, mixing adventure, history and witty social commentary in with the mystery elements. I'd favor Amelia Peabody over Lady Julia, however, because of Amelia's son Ramses Emerson---now there is a hero to savor----I think of him as Victorian version of James Bond. But that's another series.....

Between the Thames and the Tiber

by Theodore Riccardi, 317 pages

This is a collection of Sherlockiana set after Sherlock Holmes "retired". It is again narrated by Watson, but now the duo divide their time between foggy London and sunny Rome, hence the title.

Like the originals by Conan Doyle, this volume contains several stories. While the further exploration of the characters was enjoyable, I didn't seem to find much real detection going on. More like a series of vignettes than real adventures. Charming, but a little light and frothy.

Juliet

by Anne Fortier, 447 pages

This is another bi-level story, one contemporary and the other historical, set in Renaissance Italy. A young American woman inherits a mystery but nothing else when her aunt dies. Yet the mystery supposedly leads to a hidden treasure somewhere in Italy. With nothing left to lose, Julie soon finds herself tracking down clues in the beautiful city of Siena. Her mother had been obsessed with the story of Romeo and Juliet, so Julie (named after Shakespeare's heroine, get it?) discovers that the Bard had it all wrong. The real Romeo and Juliet tragedy played out among the ancient families of Siena, not in Verona.

The historical part of the tale tells the "true" story of Juliet and her Romeo. Soon there are intimations that Julie's bloodline also goes back to old Siena. Hints of brooding enemies, modern and ancient, shadow Julie while she searches through Siena and her familial history. Is there really a treasure...will Julie live long enough to claim it....and what about Julie's evil twin?!

This reminded me of the romantic suspense written by authors like Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. I enjoyed reading about old Siena and the lesser known aspects of the tragic tale of Romeo and Juliet. What was kind of interesting for me was that so much of the play is embedded in my psyche that I didn't have to look up quotes or background. It's all back in the dustier parts of the old memory banks. With the exception of some obvious plot twists, I did enjoy the book, especially the historical parts. Over all, worth giving it a go.

Instructions for a Broken Heart

by Kim A. Culbertson, 295 p.

Just before leaving on an Italian tour with her classmates, Jessa catches her boyfriend making out in the costume barn with another girl.  To make matters worse, they're going on the trip as well.  Thankfully, Jessa's best friend sends a long a care package of sorts to get her over Sean and find herself again.

1) This reminded me so much of Glee that I kept internally referring to Jessa as Rachel.

2) The story was a little disjointed.  As soon as she'd grow a bit, she'd close down and would be back to square one.

3) I liked most of the characters because of my lovely theatre upbringing, and I LOVED the theatre references, but oh. My. GOSH!  Get over yourselves, please and thanks!

Verdict: If you want an ok read before the upcoming season of Glee, pick it up.  Otherwise... meh.

Instructions for a Broken Heart by Kim Culbertson

2011/304 pgs



About the Book: Three days before her drama club's trip to Italy, Jessa stumbles in on her boyfriend with Natalie aka "the boob job." Now taking off to the most romantic city in the world. Jessa has a front row seat to Natalie and Sean's relationship. To help her move on, her best friend Carissa has sent along twenty envelopes titled "Top Twenty Reasons He's a Slimy Jerk Bastard," that Jessa is supposed to open along her trip. Each envelope includes instructions that are supposed to help Jessa get over Sean and maybe find herself along the way.

Sarah Teenlibrarian Says: I had high hopes for this book. The premise sounded cute and reminded me of Thirteen Little Blue Envelopes or maybe even P.S. I Love You. Unfortunately, the book ultimately fell flat for me.

I know Jessa is heartbroken, but the book is so full of her angst and not being able to get over Sean, that it grows a bit old. Maybe I would have felt sorry for her, but instead I felt she was a flat character who was whiny, annoying and she never seems to notice she's in Italy! I would love to travel to Italy and instead of enjoying her trip, Jessa spends the trip wallowing in self pity. I just couldn't feel any sympathy for her. I also never knew exactly why she was in Italy. She was there with her drama club, but why? What reasons did they have for going to Italy and what was the point of the trip? I guess I wanted more backstory and more details.

All of the characters suffered from being underdeveloped and there were too many of them to keep track of. So many of the characters and the plotlines seemed to start and then go nowhere. Things were thrown in, mentioned briefly, but then never developed or touched on again. Jessa is supposed to bond with another girl on the trip who finds her boyfriend cheating, but this never goes anywhere and is only mentioned a couple of times. There's a mean chaperon from the group Jessa's school is paired with, but her storyline never seems to have a point. She comes in, complains, and then leaves. Other characters are introduced, barely spoken to, and then be part of a major plot device that happens because they showed up. This never worked for me because I felt like I never knew any of the characters and never cared enough about any of them. I also felt the plot wandered around so much it never found its groove to really make it work. There were so many moments that fade out and stop just when the action is about to start. Overall I thought the plot had too much that was trying to happen and ended up getting lost along the way.

Carissa's notes and letters could have been fun, only they ended up being cruel and rude. Most of her reasons ended up not having anything that really would be to help Jessa (at least I thought) but instead pointed out what a jerk Sean was. Then we find out secrets Carissa has been keeping from Jessa about Sean. Honestly, at this point, I thought Carissa was a horrible friend, but instead we're supposed to forgive her and cheer on the power of girl friendship instead.

I also had issues with the suggestions that maybe Jessa made Sean cheat on her and she brought it on herself because she's ambitious and "busy". Jessa believes this line and part of her thinks that she deserved to be cheated on because she couldn't be everything Sean wanted or make enough time for him. This just really bugged me, especially since Jessa never seems to come to any sort of self discovery, but instead seems down on herself the whole time. I never felt like she came out of the trip or the experience any stronger than before.

Of course, there's supposed to be a bit of romance with a boy she meets on the trip, but there was hardly any interaction with them, I just couldn't believe it. I never saw anything that would make Jessa interesting let alone attractive to him. He's hardly in the book and I just didn't believe any possible relationship developing with them. Really, I only kept reading because I had hopes it would get better and I wanted Jessa to end up with her best guy friend who was delivering her letters.

This book might work for readers who like contemporary novels with a exotic location, but it just wasn't for me.